Pros

Cons

Text on paper can smudge if it gets wet.
Colors in photos printed on plain paper are a little dull.

Bottom Line

The HP PageWide Pro 552dw Printer uses inkjet technology, but competes directly with lasers designed for small to midsize offices.
It delivers excellent speed, ample paper capacity, and laser-quality text.

9 Mar 2016

The PageWide Pro 552dw Printer ($699) is the top-of-the-line model in HP's first-generation of PageWide printers. The new designation comes from the inkjet printer technology inside, which uses a printhead that measures the width of the page. The design delivers extraordinary speed for an inkjet, along with laser-quality text and graphics. That, plus a higher paper capacity than most inkjets, puts the 552dw squarely in competition with lasers. More important, it offers enough make it our Editors' Choice printer for up to heavy duty use in a small office.

The 552dw is actually one of HP's second generation of single-function, desktop printers based on PageWide technology. The first generation—which use Officejet rather than PageWide in the name—includes the HP Officejet Pro X551dw Printer, which is another top pick.

The 552dw is in the process of replacing the older model at this writing, and it's a step up in many ways. In particular, it delivered better speed on our tests, and it has double the claimed page yield for both black and color cartridges. The claimed cost per page is the same—at a low 1.3 cents for printing with black ink only or 6.8 cents for a color page—but the higher yield frees you from having to replace the cartridges as often.

The Basics

Along with speed that's well into laser territory—rated at 50 pages per minute (ppm) in the default Professional mode—the 552dw offers a level of paper handling that's more often found in lasers. It comes with a 500-sheet drawer, a 50-sheet multipurpose tray, and a duplexer standard. For offices that need more, you can also add one 500-sheet drawer ($199) or a floor stand ($799) that includes two 500-sheet drawers, for a maximum 1,550 sheets.

The 552dw's output tray holds a substantial 300 sheets. As with a laser, the paper comes out face down, so documents don't have to print in reverse order for page one to be at the front of the stack.

The printer also offers some important conveniences. If you connect it to a network, using either Ethernet or Wi-Fi, you can print through the cloud, as well as print from an iOS or Android mobile device by connecting through an access point on your network. You can also take advantage of HP's print apps and print from a USB memory key using the 4.3-inch touch screen to give commands.

About the Author

M. David Stone is an award-winning freelance writer and computer industry consultant. Although a confirmed generalist, with writing credits on subjects as varied as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of a top company in the gaming industry. David is also an expert in imaging technologies (including printers, monitors, large-screen displays, projectors, scanners, and digital cameras), storage (both magnetic and optical), and word processing. He is a recognized expert on printers, well known within the industry, and has been a judge for the Hewlett-Packard HP Invent Awards.

His more than 30 years of experience in writing about science and technology includes a more than 25-year concentration on ... See Full Bio